episode 2633-Chase Race Four At Kansas

From a NASCAR Fan’s View

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The NASCAR Cup teams head back to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400. Yeah, it’s another weekend and Chase Race Four. Kansas Speedway has proven itself to be challenging, especially for those competing for the Championship. There isn’t any obvious reason for that. It just seems that when it comes to racing for the Championship at Kansas Speedway, the ones competing for the Championship struggle. I don’t have an explanation for that, and maybe it just seems that way from this fan’s view.

Once again this weekend, practice and qualifying were canceled for the Cup teams. That means Joey Logano and Kyle Larson start on the front row. Well, that is if there are no penalties from pre-race inspections and both of them make it through. A few things are different this weekend, though. Since they will be lining up according to the rulebook, the metric changed this week because it also includes how they finished last weekend. That moved a few of them up closer to the front for starting the race.

So, this fan wonders if that will be a blessing or a curse for those two guys on the front row. I mean, last week Logano won the race; the week before that, Larson won. Remember Christopher Bell took the win in the first Chase Race, and he starts third, first on the second row, this weekend. I can’t help but wonder if that won’t give him a slight advantage for this one. I say that because of how the Toyotas, in particular the JGR Toyotas, have performed on the mile-and-a-half ovals. After all, three of the four JGR Toyotas are starting in the top seven. That could put pressure on the Chevys and Fords and could mean a big change in the points standings, depending on how the Chevys and Fords do against the Toyotas.

Statistically, the Toyotas have performed better than the others on the mile-and-a-half tracks this season, but that gap has tightened over the summer. Ryan Blaney has been the Ford to watch along with the Toyotas, but he is starting twentieth-fifth. That means he has his work cut out for himself. Is it outside the realm of possibilities that he could win? Not at all, but it won’t be easy. He definitely needs a good finish.

Another thing about those three top starters that is pretty obvious, at least to this fan. Bell, Larson, and Logano are the winners of the first three Chase Races. That could spell trouble for the rest of the field today? I suppose it could. With the lineup the way it is, all three of the top starters should also get the best pit stalls, and that could make a difference over the rest, too.  

Ok, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the top three starters because they’ve won the first three races, but there are a bunch of Chasers that I am sure want to press those top three for the win today. I mean, there’s Carson Hocevar starting fourth, Ty Gibbs fifth, and Denny Hamlin sixth. Of those three, no one wants to turn things around worse than Hamlin. Over the first three races of The Chase, he has bled points every week. Last week, Larson passed him in the points lead by one point. One point isn’t all that much, unless you consider that Larson was seventh in points when The Chase started. Denny hasn’t been running all that bad. He just hasn’t been running all that good.

The thing about The Chase is that a win can really make a big difference in the points battle. Logano and Bell are only sixteen and seventeen points out of first, respectively. If either of them wins today, they could take over the points lead. After them, things get a little more separated. Ty Gibbs is only forty-two points out. Ryan Blaney is just fifty-two points out.

From my view, scoring points is the most important thing on every driver’s mind going into today’s race. Those at the top want to build a little distance between themselves and those behind them. If last week showed the pressure on drivers to perform and get as many points as possible, today’s race is going to be even more aggressive. It is probably good that Blaney and Hocevar worked out their differences over last week’s run-in with each other. With pressure mounting each week, I expect the emotions to increase right along with it. I expect to see even more aggressive driving and moves as The Chase moves forward.

The next four races could tell a lot about whether the Chevys and Fords have gained speed over the dominance the Toyotas have enjoyed for most of this 2026 season. From this fan’s view, it is obvious that both are showing up more competitive against the Toyotas, but it is still anybody’s race to win today. I guess we will see if they still have an advantage over the Fords and Chevys or whether that advantage has basically disappeared. Today’s race could tell us a lot about how the next few races might go and which of the drivers and manufacturers might begin to pull away, points-wise.

I have no idea how things are going to go, but of this I am sure. There is going to be no lack of drama, emotion, and aggression. Hold on tight, folks; things are going to get very interesting…

Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time…